![]() That show, along with Alternative Nation, which I rushed home to watch every day after school, introduced me to bands that had been around for a while, like Sonic Youth and Social Distortion up-and-comers such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Green Day, and Babes in Toyland and seminal punk bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. I discovered punk rock the summer between sixth and seventh grade, when I’d stay up late watching an MTV show called 120 Minutes that aired the latest indie and alternative music videos. ![]() ![]() The Fireside was our clubhouse, and we would defend it against the neighbors who complained about the noise, and the City of Chicago, which was constantly threatening to tear the old building down. Those kids became my community, a club that welcomed me as a member. Once inside we’d mosh together in front of the stage or balance carefully atop one of the ball returns in a nearby bowling lane to get a better view of Sleater-Kinney, Oblivion, the Blue Meanies, Slapstick, or whoever else was onstage. It was worth it just to be with all the other pierced, dyed, and tattooed kids who lined Fullerton Avenue each night smoking cigarettes and drinking forties, waiting for the club to open. The shows rarely cost more than five dollars, so I went even when I didn’t recognize the name on the handwritten half-sheet flier I’d plucked off the table by the door. I spent every weekend and as many weekday nights as I could get away with at the Fireside. It was mainly a music venue, specializing in indie punk bands. Despite all this bowling-themed signage, and the fact that there were actual bowling lanes and bowling balls inside, the venue was rarely used for bowling. ![]() The summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school I found paradise, in the form of a long red-and-white building with a giant red bowling pin stuck to the front, above a marquee that announced the name of the place: Fireside Bowl. ![]()
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